Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

AbsenceLatest NewsHR practice

Employers underestimate absence levels by almost 20%

by Guy Logan 29 Oct 2008
by Guy Logan 29 Oct 2008

Most employers underestimate absence levels by almost 20%, experts have claimed.

An absence management tool from the private healthcare division of insurance firm Axa ICAS was trialled on 1,600 of its staff, resulting in a drop in absence rates to 3.6% and a saving of more than £14,000 per month. The tool focused on team-based trends rather than individual-based ones to identify problem areas.

David Prosser, business manager at Axa ICAS, said most employers had patchy and inconsistent data, which came at a cost to the bottom line.

“When you drill down, many organisations don’t have accurate data on absence at all,” he told Personnel Today. “We were clearly under-recording absence, even though we thought we had a robust method of capturing details, but it became clear we were missing about 17%, which our research shows is about how much most organisations miss.”

Prosser said the tool, which requires absent staff to call the service and go through automated prompts, would send alerts to line managers to indicate trends that needed addressing. He said many absence problems came down to a team’s culture.

“You can have two teams in the same department doing the same job, yet still have completely different rates of absence,” he said. “Our conclusion was that the key drivers behind absence are not different medical issues, but about line manager capability and employee attitude.

“We spent a lot of time upskilling line managers to treat absence as genuine but still manage the issue, so they can make employees understand the importance of absence, but not put someone with one or two days off per year under an inquisition. Those skills made a big difference.”

The research found that after 12 months, the top 50% of teams with the lowest absence rates accounted for less than a quarter of the company’s total absence costs.

Axa has previously called for a shake-up of absence definitions.

Avatar
Guy Logan

previous post
Organisations must train UK staff before bringing in migrant workers
next post
UK bosses ill-equipped to deal with downturn

You may also like

Strikes: Mayors pledge to avert use of work...

9 Dec 2023

Rejoice! Be merry! The season of HR warnings...

8 Dec 2023

Weak economic outlook slows hiring decisions

8 Dec 2023

Civil servants campaign for four-day week

8 Dec 2023

Oxfam workers begin first-ever strike

8 Dec 2023

Television executive in hospital after bullying report

8 Dec 2023

International business faces ‘permacrisis’ in 2024

8 Dec 2023

Toxic culture at Sellafield ‘threatens safety’

7 Dec 2023

Minimum service levels enacted for rail, borders and...

7 Dec 2023

Aldi announces pay rise for 2024

7 Dec 2023

  • How to spot and tackle imposter syndrome in the workplace PROMOTED | Half of all UK adults...Read more
  • BetterMe for Business: How to Build Wellness Culture at Work PROMOTED | Ever encountered a...Read more
  • Global growth with simple HR compliance (webinar) WEBINAR | In an increasingly global marketplace...Read more
  • Talent acquisition: How AI can complement a ‘back to basics’ approach PROMOTED | Artificial intelligence is now...Read more
  • What will it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (webinar) WEBINAR | As we approach 2024...Read more
  • HR Budget Planning for 2024: Preparing your People Strategy PROMOTED | As organisations continue to adapt...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+